~*~ For the Love of the Rose ~*~

~ A Short Story by Andi ~

AN: Hey all! OK, I'm not sure what the exact subject of this story is – it was inspired by an RL event – I was holding some rose petals in my hand, and they started to get blown away by the wind. I was wondering how sad that could be made if the petals had meaning in the first place...roughly based on Leilyn and Alcarinion, two chars of my own creation. However, this is free to interpretation ^_^ R/R, pleaseth!

Roses. They held an intense amount of meaning for him. As he walked by a bush full of the gorgeous white flowers, he stroked the silky petals of one gently. He still recalled the first day that roses had become more than just a flower to him…they had become a symbol, a glorification of the most beautiful thing he had ever seen…

He was walking through the forest when he heard a beautiful voice. It was fairer than any he had ever heard, Elven or otherwise. It sang in a language unknown to him, a haunting language that flowed together more liquidly than any Quenya. At that moment, he forgot any errand he may have had, and left his whole life behind.

He followed the voice into a small glen. There, he knew that his dreams and deep thoughts had somehow taken form and stood before him. He felt as if he bore the fates of both Thingol and Beren as he looked upon the glen.

Before him, he saw an apparition, a vision of gold and green swirling in the moonlight. Her hair streamed behind her, and the scarves on her arms fluttered in the gentle breeze. She appeared as a flower, with the sun in her golden hair. A gorgeous white rose was tucked behind her right ear, adorning her hair. She was singing and dancing gently to the words of her song. He watched her, spellbound, afraid of speaking to ruin the moment.

Finally, as she finished her song, he called to her. He called her Anarlossë, which is sun-blossom. She turned, startled, as he approached her. They stood together, looking at each other's eyes, for some time. Then, she took the flower from her hair into her hand. She looked away from him and began to float off.

He called after her again. She turned back and tossed the rose gently. It floated to the ground and the stem buried itself in the earth in front of him.

He bent down to pick it up, stroking its silky white petals gently…

His finger slipped and a thorn pricked his finger, jolting him back to the present. He reached for his breast pocket and closed his fingers around the contents of it.

A century or so had passed since he had met the mysterious maiden, but he had not forgotten her. The rose she had bestowed upon him had remained in perfect condition all those years, but was now reduced to a handful of petals.

He reached into his pocket to pull out the petals. They were each as fresh as the day he had touched them first. The wind blew around him, threatening to blow away his petals. He held them even tighter, determined not to let them go.

Those petals meant everything to him now. They were all he had left of the sun-blossom, the girl he had met. He remembered her in his mind as clearly as if she stood before him and he believed that, somehow, the petals would lead him to her again.

He slowly opened his hand again, feeling the sleek petals brush against his skin. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past him, pulling every single petal out of his hand and into the air. Horrified, his mouth dropped open.

"NO!" His cry rang out in the forest as the wind twirled the remains of his beautiful flower out of his reach. He bit his lip at this cruel twist of fate, cursing the forces that separated him from his memories, unable to keep a tear of frustration from his eye.

But just as suddenly as the wind had blown, a revelation came to him, and he understood just why the rose had meant so much to him. He had loved the mystery girl, with a love deeper than any other. She was his first and only love, and the rose had symbolized that. But now he realized that rose or no rose, he would always remember the girl. He also realized that he would most likely never see her again, and while he would always love her, he would eventually meet someone else. And when he did, he would have room in his heart to love her as well.

He did not know how the future would turn out. But then again, that just made the anticipation more exciting, and the events more interesting.

He followed the wind deeper into the forest. It no longer felt like his foe, more like his guide, a landmark in his life. The wind would take him to a new adventure, a new love, and a new rose, to symbolize his new life.

~ End ~